Archive for February, 2009

Colorado Central changes hands

February 23, 2009

march-coverBack in the early 1990s I aspired to be a writer and despite some successes I was broke and had wallpapered my bathroom with rejection letters from magazine editors. In March 1994 when Ed and Martha Quillen started Colorado Central magazine I provided an essay called “Land scams go around, and around, and around.” They seemed to not care about the effect this might have on advertising from real-estate developers, and I went on to contribute two more essays that first year the magazine was published.

In 1995 I wrote just two longer essays for the magazine. But there must have been something Ed and Martha saw in my first five efforts, for they offered me the opportunity for a monthly column on the back inside page of the magazine starting in January 1996. I never missed one for 13 years — by my count that’s exactly 163 essays/columns as of this month, if you include the first five in 1994 and ’95. If you were to run them all end-to-end it wouldn’t exactly be “War and Peace” but it would be nearly halfway there at more than 200,000 words. You can read most of these online through the archive. (It’s interesting to note that through a computer glitch some early issues were lost and were retrieved by text scanning; so some of these archived columns may contain a few typographical errors.)

The big news this month in the history of Colorado Central is that Ed and Martha have sold the magazine. Mike Rosso of Salida is taking over as owner and publisher. Mike has a good deal of media experience, and is also a courageous person for taking on this project during a time of profound change in the publishing business. I’ve had some great talks with Mike about the future of the magazine and I have faith that his ideas and energy will carry this niche publication forward. In addition, Ed and Martha will continue to contribute. And I’ll continue to write a monthly column.

My thanks to Ed and Martha for taking a chance on me back in 1996, as well as for their support, encouragement and patience (I have been known to fudge on deadlines) over all these years. Look for the first issue under Mike’s leadership to be out any day. My essay this month is an expanded version of “Coming to terms with the A-word” which had its beginnings as an entry on this site.

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A peak view

February 20, 2009
It's hard to find a bad view of the Sangre de Cristo range. This photo was taken out east of the Westcliffe/Silver Cliff clusterplex on Thursday afternoon when the air was exceptionally crisp and clear.

It's hard to find a bad view of the Sangre de Cristo range. This photo was taken east of the Westcliffe/Silver Cliff clusterplex on Thursday afternoon when the air was exceptionally crisp and clear.

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An easy eggplant Parmesan

February 19, 2009

I’m really a vegetarian. It’s just that I’m a meat-eating vegetarian. But here’s a recipe that doesn’t involve meat and it’s also wheat-free — an easy eggplant parmesan. It’s easy because you don’t have to sweat the eggplant, dip it in egg and bread crumbs or bake it first. You’ll need:

• One eggplant

• 15 oz. ricotta

• One onion

• 2 cloves garlic

• Five or six leaves chard

• One big can organic diced tomatoes

• Mozzarella cheese

• Parmesan cheese

• Dried oregano and basil.

First the sauce. Dice the onion and sauté in olive oil; season with salt, pepper, dried oregano and basil (I just sprinkle the spices in and don’t measure). Cut the stems out of the chard, chop them and add them to the onions. When these vegetables are tender add the garlic and cook one minute before pouring in the tomatoes. Simmer for about 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice the eggplant about 1/8-inch thick and steam it in a collander until tender.

In a baking dish, spoon in a layer of sauce about 1/4-inch deep. Then place steamed eggplant slices to cover the bottom. Spread the ricotta over the eggplant. Place the chard leaves over the cheese, then grate some mozzerella over the chard. Add another layer of eggplant. Pour the rest of the sauce over the eggplant, then grate enough mozzerella to cover. Sprinkle a fair amount of Parmesan cheese on top and put in the oven at 350 for about 35 minutes or until the cheese on top turns golden brown.

Now for the nutrition . . . the dark purple skin of eggplant contains phytonutrients, and chard is also full of vitamins and phytonutrients. Ricotta cheese is made with whey, which is a good source of biothols. The body uses biothiols to produce glutathione, which is the most powerful antioxidant, even more powerful than vitamins C and E and other nutrients in this class.

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A calendar of peaks

February 12, 2009
The sun's steady march northward can be marked by where it sets in relationship to the peaks in the Sangre de Cristo range. In this photo, taken, Feb. 11, the sun sets between Venable and Eureka peaks.

The sun's steady march northward can be marked by where it sets in relation to the peaks in the Sangre de Cristo range. In this photo, taken Feb. 11, the sun sets between Venable and Eureka peaks.

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Coming to terms with the ‘A-word’

February 9, 2009

For about the past year I have been coming to terms with my son Harrison’s autism. For several months I battled with the use of the label, but then a trip to Denver’s Children’s Hospital made it official. After a morning of tests the doctor, who I am sure had faced other skeptical fathers, looked right at me and said what I knew she would say: “It is autism.”newsweater

What I have come to learn over the year since this diagnosis is that the word means so many different things to so many different people, and the symptoms are so variable and come in so many different degrees — a true spectrum. I have spoken to very few friends and family members about this subject, and this is the first time I have attempted to write about it. In fact, I would not even say “autism” for some time and have referred to it as “the A-word.”

I think there is some validity to my initial skepticism. Autism is a medical diagnosis but doctors don’t really know what it is or what causes it. There is no concrete medical test such as a blood test or brain scan to determine if a person has it. Instead, the diagnosis is made using subjective psychological tests. I say subjective because from what I saw the results of Harrison’s testing could have been different given any number of variables, not excluding who was in the room besides the doctor, the mood of the child at the time of the tests, that the tests were given in unfamiliar surroundings, and that the tests were given in a room where there were many things that could be a distraction.

Still, we know that Harrison is different from other children his age, and these tests at least gave us something to pin it on. Beyond that, the label is really meaningless. I like to say he has learning differences rather than learning delays or disabilities.

There are some people — actual grownups — who say that children with autism are merely spoiled kids whose parents do not properly discipline them. These folks clearly have no clue what it’s like to live day in and day out with a child who has these challenges. If you would like a little taste of what it’s like watch this video: “Autism Every Day.”

Note that there are no fathers featured in this video.

Over the weekend I saw the last half of the film “Rain Man,” which until now I had been unprepared to watch. Through the eyes of a parent of a child with autism this movie is really an adventure, especially since the central character is a grown man with no living parents. There are the obvious stereotypical references to Raymond’s (Dustin Hoffman) autism: Watching clothes spin in a dryer; sensitivity to the bright and moving lights of Las Vegas and to loud noises; monotone emotionless speech; a lack of eye contact.

In fact, my son now rarely displays any of these behaviors though he has at some point in time exhibited many of them and it is not surprising to see him engage in one of them at any time. He does have a fixation on doors and hinges. We are lucky that Harrison’s autism is considered to be “mild” and he has made tremendous progress in recent months. But this does not mean life is not challenging for all of us. A simple trip to the store, for example, can either be just fine or a complete nightmare.

The scene that made “Rain Man” real for me was near the end when Raymond was cooking some waffles in a toaster oven and they burned, setting off a smoke alarm and upsetting him terribly. It wasn’t Raymond’s reaction to the situation that made such an impression on me — it was Charlie’s (Tom Cruise) terror as he ran to the kitchen to see what was happening. The expression on Charlie’s face summed up what it’s like to be a parent or caregiver of someone with autism — you’re always on alert.

It was a full day later that the actual meaning of the film’s title struck me.

Tonight I taught Harrison to catch a football. I did this by having him sit at the top of the stairs while I tossed a Nerf football up to him. The angle of the stairs allowed plenty of hang time for him to track the ball, put out his hands and make the catch. He snagged the ball several times and tossed it back down to me.

In the day-to-day dealings with autism, little victories can be huge. 

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Courage and wonder on the Voodoo Trail

February 4, 2009

Even in a mild winter it’s easy to feel a bit snowbound in the Wet Mountains. Most of the trail routes I use in the warmer months are at least partially closed by snowbanks. If you like to run regularly like I do, the decision whether to go left or right at the main road gets old.

Getting off the glacier is always a good mental break. Today I planned a shopping trip to Pueblo, coupled with an exploration of the trail system on the south side of the Pueblo Reservoir. I parked at a turnout on Colorado 96 and took the trail from there. Although it’s February it was T-shirt weather. A sign pointed the way to the “Voodoo Trail.”

Within a mile the tracks of casual walkers gave way to the braided tread of mountain bike tracks, and my Nikes were the only footprints in the trail. The trail dropped down an arroyo and then climbed up and to the west, where another sign indicated a loop. I opted for the counter-clockwise “Voodoo Loop” thinking that I’d be soon disappointed with not enough distance.

Onward I ran, as the trail meandered in and out of the various ravines and offered great vantages of the water from high cliffs. A half-hour out from the truck I ran out of time and the loop had not even begun to turn a corner. I stopped and took in the sights from a point overlooking the lake. Though it was midday, a better-than-half moon was rising over the bluffs to the east.

Back at the truck I changed into street clothes and drove on into Pueblo for lunch and groceries. I found a map of the trail system online. The Voodoo Loop, it turns out, is more than 11 miles. I plan to make this trail system a regular break, and maybe even bring a burro next time as I see some of the trails are open to equines.

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Milder winter doesn’t mean drought

February 3, 2009

Winter came late to the Wet Mountains this season, but from early December to mid-January it had some truly Arctic moments. Now with milder weather the past few weeks, some local residents are freaking out about moisture and the possibility of a drought.

I’ve lived here in the Wet Mountains for 18 winters, and from what I’ve seen winter snowpack at moderate altitudes (under 10,000 feet) is vastly overrated. In very few years has January-February snow cover at these altitudes provided significant amounts of moisture. Moreover, it’s been the big spring storms in late March, April and even May that make the grass grow in May and June.

There’s usually not much water content in the snow that falls in the coldest months, and often the process of sublimation literally sucks the moisture out of what snow we do get. Moreover, the ground is frozen, the snow insulates the ground from the sun, and so when it melts it runs off and does not soak in.

It’s quite different when a heavy wet snow falls on the bare ground in late March or April. In 2003 we had very little snow all winter but a storm dropped a whopping 7 feet of snow starting March 17. I think we’re still drinking water from that storm. Likewise, we had more than 2 feet April 23, 2004.

colonyNow when it comes to snowpack in the high country it’s a different story. This snowpack at higher elevations does add up, and when it melts in late spring the water feeds the streams and the ditches that irrigate hayfields in the Wet Mountain Valley. Evaporation from this moisture also helps fuel summer thunderstorms.

When it comes to this snowpack, we’re actually ahead of the game. The South Colony SNOTEL in the Sangre de Cristo range registered 117 percent of the Feb. 3 average. The water content is already 71 percent of the average peak, which occurs on April 15. That leaves two months to make up just 29 percent. One or two good spring storms could push the snowpack over that average.

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